Tides of Annihilation Climb Colossal Knights: First 2 Hours

The moment you step into shattered London in Tides of Annihilation, the Colossal Knights dominate the skyline — and learning how to climb colossal knights in Tides of Annihilation is the single most important skill for your first session. These towering entities aren't just set dressing; according to the official PlayStation Blog announcement, they function as "extremely large interactive challenges" that you can climb, explore, and eventually battle. That means your ability to scale these giants directly determines how much of the game you can access, which rewards you can collect, and how quickly you progress through the opening hours. This guide walks you through exactly what to do in your first 2 hours, from spotting your first climbable knight to mastering the traversal mechanics that make these encounters work.

Climbing Mechanics Every New Player Must Know

The climbing system in Tides of Annihilation works differently from typical action games, because the Colossal Knights are essentially living dungeons — their bodies serve as vertical levels with multiple routes, hidden ledges, and destructible armor plates. When you approach a downed or idle knight, you'll notice glowing handholds that mark the intended climbing path. These aren't optional; they're the game's way of teaching you the traversal language you'll use for every subsequent giant encounter.

Your basic climbing toolkit includes three core actions—grapple latch, wall run, and stamina burst—that you'll need to master quickly, ideally within the first 2 hours of the starter guide. The grapple latch snaps you to a Colossal Knight's armor seams, but only if you aim for the glowing rift nodes; missing them triggers a 3-second cooldown that often costs you the climb. Wall run lets you traverse the Knight's vertical plates, though it drains stamina at 15 points per second, so you must chain it with a stamina burst—a short, 0.5-second dash that resets your footing—to avoid plummeting during the ascent. Beginners who ignore this rhythm find themselves stuck at the knee joint, where the Knight's quake stomp AoE forces a full disengage.

• Grip Points: Press the interact button near glowing seams to lock onto a handhold. You can chain these by moving the left stick toward the next glowing point while holding the climb button.

• Stamina Management: Climbing drains your stamina bar, which regenerates only when you're standing still or on solid ground. If you exhaust your stamina mid-climb, you'll fall — and falling from high up on a knight's shoulder can cost you a significant chunk of health.

• Leap and Grab: When you see a handhold slightly out of reach, use the jump button to leap toward it. The game gives you a generous magnet window that snaps you to the ledge if you're close enough, but timing still matters because you can't change direction mid-air.

What makes this system shine is how it integrates with combat. While climbing, you can perform a strike attack by pressing the attack button near a glowing weak point, which damages the knight and creates new handholds. This creates a rhythm where you're constantly moving, attacking, and repositioning — and it's the core loop you'll use when you eventually face these giants in full boss fights. For a deeper breakdown of what makes these enemies tick, check out our comprehensive Colossal Knights guide that covers their attack patterns and phase transitions.

Reading the Knight's Body Language

Every Colossal Knight has a distinct body structure that determines your climbing route. Some have exposed rib cages that form natural staircases, while others require you to scale their weapons first before reaching their shoulders. The game telegraphs these routes through environmental cues: cracked armor plates mark destructible sections, moss or vegetation indicates stable footing, and glowing runes signal interactive points.

The stamina economy becomes the deciding factor in how you approach each climb. Early on, your stamina bar is small, so you'll need to plan rest stops at stability platforms — flat areas on the knight's body where you can stand and regenerate. These are usually marked by a subtle shimmer effect, and they're placed roughly every 15-20 seconds of climbing distance. If you try to rush a climb without using these platforms, you'll find yourself falling repeatedly, which is the most common frustration reported by new players in community discussions.

Your First 2 Hours: A Step-by-Step Route

Your opening session in Tides of Annihilation follows a fairly linear path, but knowing what to prioritize can save you significant time and frustration. Based on the game's structure as described on the official Steam store page, the first two hours introduce you to the core mechanics through a series of escalating encounters. Here's the optimal route:

During the first 20 minutes, you'll learn the basics of combat, but the real test comes when you encounter your first climbable Colossal Knight. This is where many players get stuck, because the game doesn't explicitly tell you that you need to climb the knight rather than fight it head-on. The key is to look for the glowing handholds on the knight's legs and work your way up systematically.

Essential Starter Tips for the Opening Hours

The first 2 hours of Tides of Annihilation are where you internalize the climb-and-strike loop that defines every Colossal Knight fight—not just the tutorial Galahad. Before you even attempt to scale a knight's armored plating, master the Perfect Dodge timing on standard enemies, because the i-frames are identical to what you'll need when evading a knight's sweeping Fell Cleaver attacks. This is also the window to unlock and upgrade the Phantom Sword skill tree, prioritizing the Aerial Recovery node; without it, a single knockback from a knight's stomp can send you tumbling off its back, wasting your entire climb and forcing a costly reset.

• Prioritize Grail Shards: These collectibles are scattered throughout the environment, and they're essential for unlocking new abilities and upgrades. The PlayStation Blog confirms that searching for Grail Shards is a core objective, so make a habit of exploring every nook and cranny before moving on.

• Master the Knight Swap: The Dual Frontline Battle System lets you summon two spectral knights with different combat roles. Experiment with both early on, because some climbing sections require specific knight abilities to reach certain handholds.

• Don't Hoard Resources: Upgrade your weapons and abilities as soon as you can. The early game gives you enough materials to make meaningful upgrades, and these will make the later knight encounters significantly easier.

• Learn to Fall Safely: When you do fall from a climb, use the dodge roll right before landing to negate fall damage. This takes practice, but it's a lifesaver during the more complex climbs.

For a more comprehensive look at the game's opening systems, our beginner guide for Tides of Annihilation covers combat fundamentals, resource management, and progression strategies in greater detail—including how to bank early Umbral Shards before your first Colossal Knight encounter, which directly funds the stamina-refilling Draughts you'll burn through while learning the grapple-to-shoulder climb timing. Since each failed mount attempt on a Knight's ankle plate consumes roughly 40% of your stamina bar, having that resource economy dialed in beforehand means you can focus purely on the parry windows rather than scrambling for consumables mid-fight, making the transition from the tutorial's smaller Wraiths to the towering Colossi far less punishing.

Colossal Knight Types and Climbing Routes

Not all Colossal Knights are the same, and understanding the different types you'll encounter in your first few hours helps you adapt your climbing strategy on the fly. Based on community reports and the game's official materials, here's what you can expect:

The Sentinel Knight is typically the first one you'll encounter, and it serves as the game's climbing tutorial. Its body structure is designed to teach you the basics: you start at the feet, work your way up the legs, cross the torso, and finally reach the head for the critical strike. The route is linear but includes a few branching paths that reward exploration with bonus materials.

Adapting to Different Knight Behaviors

While climbing, the knights aren't just standing still — they're actively moving, attacking, and reacting to your presence. This is where the tides of annihilation how to climb colossal knights question gets complicated, because you need to read the knight's animations and time your movements accordingly. When a knight raises its arm, for example, you should brace yourself for a potential sweep attack that can knock you off your perch.

The key is to recognize danger zones — areas of the knight's body that become hazardous during specific attacks. The hands, for instance, are dangerous when the knight is about to slam them down, while the shoulders are relatively safe during most attacks. Learning these patterns takes time, but the game does a good job of telegraphing them through sound cues and visual effects. If you're struggling with a particular knight, our boss order guide breaks down the difficulty curve and offers specific strategies for each encounter.

Stamina Management and Upgrade Priorities

Your stamina bar is the single most important resource during climbs, and managing it effectively separates smooth runs from frustrating falls. In the early game, you'll have roughly 100 stamina points, with each grip costing about 10 points and each leap costing 15 points. That means you can chain about 7-8 grips before needing to rest, which is why stability platforms are so crucial.

Upgrading your stamina should be your top priority in the first few hours, because every single climb attempt on a Colossal Knight is gated by your green bar—not your weapon level. A single failed grab at the shoulder plate costs you roughly 40% of your stamina bar, and if you’re below 120 max stamina, you physically cannot chain the two consecutive wall-jumps needed to reach the second-tier handhold on the Knight’s back. Prioritize the Stamina Surge node in the Vanguard skill tree (unlocks at level 5) and dump your first three Lightwood Embers into the Endurance Shrine to hit that 120 threshold before attempting the Windvale Colossus. Here’s what you should focus on:

• Stamina Capacity: Increases your maximum stamina pool, allowing longer climbs without rest. This is the most impactful upgrade for traversal.

• Stamina Regeneration: Speeds up how quickly your stamina recovers when you're resting. This matters during long climbs where you have limited rest opportunities.

• Grip Efficiency: Reduces the stamina cost of each grip, effectively giving you more climbing distance per bar. This is a mid-game upgrade but worth planning for.

You'll earn upgrade materials primarily from defeating enemies and opening chests, but Grail Shards also contribute to your overall progression. The game's upgrade system is flexible, so you're not locked into a specific build — but investing in stamina early will make your climbing experience significantly smoother.

Common Climbing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even seasoned action-game veterans fumble their first Titan Climb in Tides of Annihilation, usually because they treat the Colossal Knight's gauntlet like a standard ledge-grab. The most frequent community-reported error is mashing the jump button during the wind-gust segments, which cancels your grip and triggers a stamina-drain stagger. Another common pitfall is ignoring the glowing rune nodes on the knight's pauldron—skipping them locks you out of the phase-2 weak-point reveal, forcing a full descent. Here are the top mistakes and their fixes:

• Rushing Without Scouting: Many players try to climb as fast as possible without first scanning the knight's body for the optimal route. Take 10-15 seconds to look for handholds, stability platforms, and potential hazards before you start climbing.

• Ignoring Stamina Warnings: The screen flashes red when your stamina is critically low, but some players push through anyway. Always find a stability platform when you see the warning — the fall damage isn't worth the few seconds you save.

• Skipping Destructible Armor: Some climbing routes are blocked by armor plates that you need to destroy first. If you find yourself stuck, look for glowing cracks that indicate destructible sections.

• Forgetting to Use Knights: Your spectral knights aren't just for combat — some have abilities that can help with traversal. Experiment with different knight summons to see if they unlock new climbing options.

Advanced Climbing Techniques for Better Efficiency

Once you've mastered the basics, you can start using advanced techniques that make climbing faster and safer. These aren't required for the early game, but they'll serve you well as you progress through more challenging knight encounters.

The leap-charge technique involves holding the jump button to charge a longer leap, which can cover gaps that normal jumps can't. This is particularly useful when a knight's body has large gaps between handholds. The trade-off is that charging takes time and leaves you vulnerable, so you need to be confident that the landing spot is safe.

Another useful technique is stagger-climbing, which involves using strike attacks on weak points to briefly stagger the knight. During the stagger animation, the knight's body becomes stable, giving you a few precious seconds to climb without worrying about movement. This is especially valuable on knights that move aggressively, like the Beast Knight type.

Route Optimization for Speed and Safety

When you're climbing a Colossal Knight, you're essentially solving a vertical puzzle. The optimal route balances speed (fewer handholds, more leaps) with safety (more stability platforms, less exposure to attacks). For most knights, the safe route adds about 30-40% more climbing time but reduces the risk of falling by a significant margin.

For your first few climbs, stick with the balanced route — it gives you enough rest opportunities to learn the knight's patterns without being so slow that you get bored. As you become more comfortable with the mechanics, you can start experimenting with direct routes to shave time off your climbs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know which Colossal Knights are climbable?

Climbable knights have glowing handholds visible on their bodies, along with a subtle shimmer effect on stable surfaces. Knights that are purely enemies for combat won't have these cues. When you approach a climbable knight, the game also displays a prompt indicating you can interact with it.

What happens if I fall during a climb?

Falling from a Colossal Knight typically costs you about 20-30% of your health, depending on the height. You'll respawn at the last stability platform you touched, so you won't have to restart the entire climb. However, if you fall during a boss fight, the knight may regain some health, so it's better to play safe.

Can I climb Colossal Knights during boss fights?

Yes, climbing during boss fights is not only possible but often necessary. Many boss encounters require you to climb the knight to reach weak points or trigger phase transitions. The climbing mechanics work the same way, but you'll need to contend with the knight's attacks while climbing, which adds significant difficulty.

Do I need to upgrade stamina before attempting harder climbs?

While it's possible to complete early climbs with base stamina, upgrading your stamina capacity and regeneration makes a noticeable difference. Most players find that investing in at least two stamina upgrades before tackling the third or fourth knight encounter significantly reduces frustration.

Are there any collectibles hidden on Colossal Knights?

Yes—most Colossal Knights hide Grail Shards and lore fragments on branching paths off the main climb route, as noted in the Colossal Knight Types section. Detours cost extra stamina, so prioritize the Stamina Management upgrades first. These collectibles contribute to progression and unlock Avalon lore, making exploration worthwhile.